37: John Torous on Smartphone Apps for College Mental Health

John Torous, M.D., M.B.I., joins Dr. Dixon and Dr. Berezin to discuss the expanded access to smartphone apps for mental health on college campuses as well as issues regarding the privacy, efficacy, and quality of mental health apps. Dr. Torous is the director of the digital psychiatry division at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. How Dr. Torous became interested in this area of research [1:27] What does it mean to be a director of digital psychiatry? [2:27] Why colleges are a good place to study digital psychiatry [3:47] A sense of the landscape of digital mental health or digital psychiatry on college campuses [5:20] Pros and cons of digital mental health tools [7:25] Major findings of the study [12:39] Key conclusions of the study [16:42] Evidence base for mental health apps [18:34] Recommendations for college mental health organizations [20:35] Questions surrounding legal liability [22:57] Emerging issues in the field [25:08] Final thoughts from Dr. Torous [27:05] Subscribe to the podcast here. Check out Editor's Choice, a set of curated collections from the rich resource of articles published in the journal. Sign up to receive notification of new Editor's Choice collections. Browse other articles on our web site. Be sure to let your colleagues know about the podcast, and please rate and review it wherever you listen to it. Listen to other podcasts produced by the American Psychiatric Association. Follow the journal on Twitter. E-mail us at [email protected]